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Advanced Social - Course Glossary

AvatarA visual representation of a user online, though not necessarily an actual photo of the user.

BioA ‘Bio’, short for biography, is the small portion of your online profile that explains to new or potential followers who you are.

Conversions, Social MediaA conversion is a positive action that is taken on a website by a visitor from or through social media. Tracking conversions is crucial to properly attributing value creation or revenue to social media activity and campaigns.

Direct Message (DM) AKA Private Message (PM)A direct message is a private message sent to one or more users on a social media channel.

Embedded MediaDigital media such as a video or social media post that is displayed within another piece of content, outside of its native setting. On a website or blog this is achieved by copying and pasting snippets of ‘embed code’ via the CMS.

EngagementThis broad term encompasses a several different types of actions on social media, from commenting on Facebook posts to participating in Twitter chats. At its simplest, social media engagement is any interaction users have with one another.

GeotaggingThe practice of tagging a photo, video, or message with a specific location.

GeotargettingA feature on many social media platforms that allows users to share their content or run advertising campaigns with geographically defined audiences.

GIFGIF (pronounced ‘JIF’) is the acronym for Graphics Interchange Format. An animated GIF can loop endlessly or it can present one or a few sequences and then stop the animation.

HandleA handle is a person's online alias or shortened-name, often referred to as their @username.

HashtagThe hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by the “#” sign. #Hashtags are a simple way to mark the topic (or topics) of social media messages and make them discoverable to people with shared interests. On most social networks, clicking a hashtag will reveal all the public and recently published messages that also contain that hashtag.

InfluencerA social media user who can reach a significant audience and drive awareness about a trend, topic, company, or product.

Lists (Twitter)A curated set of Twitter accounts that that you can group together in their own timeline. Lists are a convenient way to organise other Twitter users, whether you follow them or not.

MentionThe act of tagging another user’s handle or account name in a social media message. Mentions typically trigger a notification for that user and are a key part of what makes social media “social”. A mention also allows your audience to click through to the mentioned users’ bio or profile.

NewsjackingThe act of referencing or involving yourself in a news story or event in order to connect with the audience following or discussing that story. Injecting your own story into a news story has become much easier with social media, as users can simply use hashtags or search terms to attach their content to breaking news.

Organic ReachDescribes the number of unique people who view your content without paid promotion. The distinction between organic and paid reach is, of course, that the former is free. People come across this content through the feeds, streams, posts, pages of their contacts.

Paid ReachSimilar to organic reach, this refers to the number of individuals viewing your published paid content—ads, sponsored stories, promotional material. Paid reach generally has a much larger network than organic reach so messages are potentially read by people outside of a specific contact list.

Total ReachOrganic Reach + Paid Reach = Total Reach

PermalinkThe URL address of an individual piece of content. Permalinks are useful because they allow you to reference a specific Tweet, update, or blog post instead of the feed or timeline in which you found it. You can quickly find an item’s permalink by clicking on its timestamp.

Retargeting (aka Remarketing)Retargeting is an online advertising technique that involves targeting web visitors who expressed an interest in your products or services. This is accomplished by placing a small tracking tag on your website. Once visitors come to your website, you can then target them as they visit other websites including Facebook, news sites, blogs, or other online media.

TagA keyword added to a social media post with the original purpose of categorising related content. A tag can also refer to the act of tagging someone in a post, which creates a link to their social media profile and associates them with the content.

ThreadA strand of messages which represent a conversation or part of a conversation. Without them, it is incredibly difficult to put messages into context or keep track of ongoing conversations. Threads begin with an initial message and then continue as a series of replies or comments.

TimestampThe date and time that a message is posted to a social network, usually visible below the headline or username. Clicking on a timestamp will usually bring you to the content’s permalink.

URL ShortenerA tool that condenses a URL into a shorter (and more social media friendly) format, known as a short link. Users who click on a short link are redirected to the original URL.

User-Generated Content ( aka UGC)Media that has been created and published online by the users of a social or collaboration platform, typically for non-commercial purposes.

Verified AccountA social media account is verified authentic, at the discretion of the social media provider. This is usually reserved for brands and public figures as a way of preventing fraud and protecting the integrity of the person or company behind the account.